IMC outside CAS without runway approach systems

My local area VFR comfort scud running cloudbase is 1000ft
The terrain is relatively flat and fortunately includes the Thames estuary.
I’m very happy to break cloud over the Thames and then take the 2min flight home.
Obviously if intending to be VFR only 1000ft is a bit low.
I wouldn’t do it, but I do have dozens of flight tracks on the GPS showing arrivals and departures. Even on full zoom with a really low scale they overlay very tightly. In theory that would be flyable and safe if your skills in IMC repeated the track accurately.

If Timothy comes along I think he had an interesting profile for a “homemade” gps approach which works very well.

Peter has posted about how he knows people who’ve used synthetic vision on Garmin Pilot to do stimulated zero/zero landings with a safety pilot

Have I? I’ve never heard of that. I have not tested Garmin Pilot and know next to nothing about its feature set.

I have known an SR22 pilot who told me he used SV to do zero-zero approaches into grass strips, at night IIRC. But that used the panel mounted kit, not a tablet.

The latest GTN software can also set up a “virtual ILS”. Not sure if EASA has certified it yet.

There is also a tablet product called GPS-ILS. I tested it on a few flights and had mixed results, with the glideslope being nowhere near the actual ILS glideslope.

As far as I understand it is rather common in the UK. In most other European countries it wasn’t legal until part-NCO so there isn’t much of a tradition…

I think it is pretty common on mainland Europe too (one German pilot told me it is called “IVFR” and of course Germany has the famous total lack of IMC below the MRVA) but people don’t talk about it as readily because it wasn’t (generally) legal until recently, plus some countries have a rather strong self policing culture (even more than the UK!).

However it is true that the UK has a much higher % of people flying IFR – due to the IMC Rating which has existed since c. 1969 and which is unique in Europe. The full IR community has always been very small, in the UK and everywhere else in Europe.

DIY approaches are safe if designed right, done right (that’s true for any IAP) and with suitable minima, and with a designed missed approach segment.

I think it’s theoretically feasible with a GPS and VNAV, and @Peter has posted about how he knows people who’ve used synthetic vision on Garmin Pilot to do stimulated zero/zero landings with a safety pilot. A VOR approach, as you mentioned, is obviously less precise. With high enough minima it should be fine, but in general I think you’re better off cloud breaking on an established approach and scud running to your destination, rather than flying a roll your own approach. Unless you really sit down with TERPS or PAN-OPS or something similar and properly design an approach, I think you’re asking to eventually become a statistic.

Ibra wrote:

For private, one can use do-it-yourself procedures with own risk appetite and personal wisdom, I will be interested to see how many actually do it?

As far as I understand it is rather common in the UK. In most other European countries it wasn’t legal until part-NCO so there isn’t much of a tradition…

Airborne_Again – that is exactly my understanding. We all know poorly made up let downs can be the death of pilots, especially as the margins become small with terrain involved. There is an obvious exceptions were you can make an assured let down over the sea and know absolutely there is no terrain of concern (unless it is a very low let down which would be unwise). To state another obvious having a plan in the event you arent visual at your defined height and point is vital which would include an airport with a published procedure within range.

I think made up let downs can seem all too easy, but in reality require carefully planning and discipline and arent something to attempt without a few trial runs with a safety pilot in VMC.

Joe-fbs wrote:

I am pretty sure from my IR(R) studies in 2011 that at least in the UK, the Instrument Flight Rules say that you may not fly IMC below the MSA without being on a published procedure. I’ll check the AIP.

This has been discussed extensively both here and on the PPL/IR forum. The consensus among UK pilots seems to be that there has never been a requirement in the national regulations that private flights have to use published procedures.

Today, with EASA regulations, in my opinion it is clear that private flight do not need to use published procedures.

Whether it is wise or not to use do-it-yourself procedures is a different matter. In my opinion it is safe if the procedure is carefully constructed and you have made a risk analysis.